Ribbed outersole of moldable material



Oct. 31, 1961 G. H. BINGHAM, JR

RIBBED OUTERSOLE OF MOLDABLE MATERIAL.

Filed Oct. 5, 1959 INVENTOR. Gear eE flzjyavra, (77':

United States Patent 3,006,085 RIBBED OUTERSOLE 0F MOLDABLE MATERIALGeorge Bingham, Jr., Westminster, Md., assignor to Cambridge RubberCompany, Taneytown, Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Oct. 5, 1959,Ser. No. 844,488 1 Claim. (CI. 36-59) This invention pertains tofootwear, more particularly to an outersole of rubber compound or othermoldable resilient material, and relates more particularly to anoutersole whose tread surface is provided with transverse- 1y extendingribs and intervening channels, each rib and channel being ofapproximately triangular shape (in a vertical plane extending lengthwiseof the sole) with the apex of the triangle directed downwardly.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide a rubber or similarlyresilient outersole with transversely extending ribs, in particular forthe purpose of increasing the resiliency of the sole as compared with anunribbed sole of the same material, and to make such ribs of sawtoothshape, in section, with the forward and rear faces of each rib slopingdownwardly and rearwardly, but at different angles to the vertical,respectively. While such an arrangement makes the sole very soft andresiliently yieldable, forces are developed in the use of a shoeequipped with such a sole such as to suggest to the wearer that he isbeing propelled forwardly, which to some persons is not agreeable.Moreover, when the front and rear faces of the ribs both slope, there isa strong tendency of mud or other dirt to embed in the angle where saidfaces intersect.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a rubberoutersole of high resiliency, but wherein the ribs are so shaped andarranged that the pressure of the foot in walking does not create anunbalanced force of appreciable amount either forwardly or rearwardly.

A further object is to provide an outersole whose tread surfacecomprises transversely extending ribs and channels, the ribs beingtriangular in vertical section, but with the ribs so arranged that anytendency of certain of the ribs to create a forwardly acting force inresponse to the pressure of the foot in walking is substantiallyneutralized by the action of other ribs.

In accordance with customary practice in making such outersoles,particularly when the outersole is molded as an incident to theattachment of the outersole to the bottom of a lasted shoe, the exposedend faces of the ribs are sometimes irregular and the ends of thechannels are not uniform in shape. A further object of the invention isto provide an outersole of the above type wherein the ends of theseveral ribs are smoothly finished and the ends of the channels are ofuniform shape and dimensrons.

A further object is to provide an outersole having two series oftransversely extending ribs, one series being in the forepart portionand the other at the heel portion, wherein the ribs of the series at theheel portion are so shaped as to develop a force tending to neutralizeany forwardly acting force created by the ribs of the forward series inresponse to the pressure of the foot.

A further object is to provide an outersole having transverselyextending ribs which are so shaped as to minimize the tendency of thesole to pick up mud.

A further object is to provide an outersole having transverselyextending ribs and channels wherein the ribs are so shaped as to providean increased wear surface as compared with ribs as conventionallyarranged.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will bepointed out in the following more detailed description and by referenceto the accompanying drawing, wherein 7 3,006,085 Patented Oct. 31, 1961FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a shoe having a ribbed sole embodying thepresent invention;

PIS. 2 is a bottom view of the outersole shown in FIG. 1; an

FIG. 3 is a vertical section substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

The improved outersole of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 asembodied in a shoe H whose upper 2 has been bonded, for example, byvulcanization to the outersole P The peripheral edge of the outersole ashere illustrated (FIG. 3) has distinct upper and lower portions 33 and34 defined by a substantially horizontal shoulder 33x extending alongthe periphery of the outersole at the forepart and heel portion.

At its forepart portion the lower surface of the sole has transverselyextending ribs 77 with intervening channels 77a, while at the heelportion the lower surface has transversely extending ribs 88 withinterventing channels 88a. The ribs 77 at the forepart portion havesubstantially vertical rear faces, while the ribs 88 at the heel end ofthe outersole have substantially vertical forward faces. As illustratedin FIG. 2, the rear faces of the ribs at the forepart portion areconcavely curved as viewed from the rear, while the forward faces of theribs at the heel portion of the sole are concavely curved as viewed fromthe front. Because of the relative shapes of the ribs 77 and 88, anytendency of one set of ribs to develop a forward or rearwardly componentof force while walking is substantially neutralized by the action of theother set. Moreover, by making one face of each rib substantiallyvertical, the channel between adjacent ribs shows far less tendency tofill up with mud or other foreign matter than though both faces of theribs were sloped, as has previously been customary. As shown, theoutersole has a substantially flat or unribbed area 38 at its toe endportion, and a similar flat unribbed area 39 at its heel end, said areasbeing adapted to receive metallic or other wear plates (not shown).

Intermediate the ribbed forward and rear portions, the lower surface ofthe sole has an unribbed area 36 (FIG. 3) which slopes upwardly andrearwardly from the vertical rear face of the rearmost rib 77, and whichintersects a forwardly and upwardly sloping surface 36a forming thefront face of a rib 37 having a substantially horizontal bottom face 37b(FIG. 2) and an upwardly and rearwardly sloping rear surface 370 whichintersects the vertical face of the foremost rib 88. The rib 37 is thusof truncated, triangular shape in vertical section, being wider at itsjunction with the base material of the sole than are the ribs 77 or 78,and having its lower face 37b located substantially at the heel breastline. The provision of this thick rib 37 insures a body of sole materialof a vertical depth such as to afford a secure anchorage for an embeddedshank stiffener N, for example, of steel (FIG. 3), this shank stiffenerextending forwardly and into the forepart portion of the sole.

It may be noted that the horizontal shoulder 33x (FIG. 3) is locatedapproximately at the level of the upper apexes of the recesses betweenthe ribs, leaving the ends of the channels completely open, whileproviding a neat and finished appearance to the peripheral edge of thesole.

The unribbed portion 36 of the molded sole desirably slopes upwardly andrearwardly as illustrated in FIG. 3.

While, as above suggested, the outersole of the present invention may bebonded to a lasted upper by the employment of cement and vulcanization,it is contemplated that the outersole may be formed from a mass of asuitable moldable compound concomitantly with its bonding to the lastedupper, and that in the latter case, the outersole will be shaped by theemployment of suitable molds (not here shown), while the bottom of thelasted shoe is pressed downwardly into adhering contact with the uppersurface of the mass'of moldable compound.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein beenillustrated and described by way of example, it will be understood thatthe invention is broadly :inclusive of any and all modifications fallingwithin the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An outersole for an article of footwear, said outersole comprising abody portion extending from the toe .to

the heel and whose upper surface is designed for contact with the bottomof a lasted shoe, the tread surface of the sole having two series oftransversely extending ribs integral with the body portion withintervening, transversely extending channels, one series being at theforepart portion and the other series being at the heel portion, eachrib having-one vertical face and one inclined 'face, the inclined facesof the ribs at the forepart portion sloping downwardly and rearwardlyand those at the heel portion sloping downwardly and forwardly, the:rear faces of the ribs at the forepart portion being concavely curvedas viewed from the rear and the forward faces of the ribs at the heelportion being 'concavely curved as viewed from the front, a metallicshank stiffener embedded in the substance of the outersole at its shankportion and extending longitudinally of the shank portion, the twoseries of ribs being spaced apart at the shank portion, and a single ribintervening between said two series, said single rib being of truncatedtriangular section having its narrow lower face at the heel breast lineand, at its junction with the body of the sole, "being wider than any ofthe ribs of the respective series, said wider rib providing a body ofsole material of such thickness as "to afford secure anchorage for therear end portion of the embedded shank stiffener, the peripheral edge ofthe sole proper comprising an uninterrupted, substantially horizontalshoulder substantially flush with the apices of the channels so that theend faces of the ribs are set back from the upper vertical portion ofthe peripheral edge of the sole and may be smooth and free from tags of,the sole material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,390,462 Saunders Sept. 13, 1921 1,701,611 Glidden-et al Feb. 12, 19292,016,178 Riddock Oct. 1, 1935 2,275,720 Bingham Mar. 10, 1942 2,710,461Hack June 14, 1955 2,833,057 Hack May 16, 1958

